Calls for Rebirth, Not Demolition, in Detroit

June 6, 2014

To the Editor:

Not mentioned in “Detroit Urged to Tear Down 40,000 Buildings” (front page, May 28) are the thousands of historic buildings in Detroit that have already been rehabilitated, and the ways that historic preservation is being embraced as part of the city’s revitalization efforts.

I was in Detroit recently and was struck by the economic revitalization underway in historic neighborhoods like Corktown, Midtown and the Villages. While the city’s vacant buildings are clearly a challenge, these neighborhoods demonstrate that they are also an opportunity for Detroit to reinvent its economy.

Preservationists understand that demolition must be part of the strategy for Detroit’s future, but we need to ensure that the city’s most important historic buildings are spared so they can become building blocks for the future. Surveys to determine which of the city’s buildings are eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places have already been completed, and they need to be considered before large-scale demolition begins.

Even historic buildings not significant enough to be listed on the National Register can contribute to Detroit’s comeback. A recent report by the National Trust found that smaller historic buildings — Detroit has thousands — are propelling economic rebounds in cities across the country.

As your article points out, Detroit currently has more than 100,000 vacant lots. Before creating thousands more vacant lots, the city should fully consider ways to preserve its important historic buildings.

STEPHANIE MEEKS Washington, May 28, 2014

The writer is the president and chief executive of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

To the Editor:

Regarding the $850 million that Detroit is considering for demolition of dilapidated and abandoned buildings: It is shocking how conventional the thinking still is. Millions have been spent over the years on demolitions, to negligible effect.

There is an alternative. Detroit is filling with young people starting businesses, restaurants and renovations of all kinds. These endeavors have been enabled by the meltdown of the glacier of regulation typical of most cities.

It isn’t just that streetlights and public services can’t be supported in Detroit; neither can the bureaucracy. Most of these entrepreneurs are working with no help from government. What if those millions of dollars were granted, say, for start-ups, to the folks with proven initiative: those under 30, many of whom have been shut out by the Great Recession?

At $50,000 each there would be 17,000 loans or grants possible. Detroit would explode with activity and success. Its emerging reputation as the “next Brooklyn” would be fulfilled, even more quickly.

The diversity required for such grants should not be by gender, race or class, but by age. So-called adults have been in charge for Detroit’s long decline. It should be the first city in the United States inherited by the millennial generation.